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Self-confidence and self-esteem are rare qualities and very few people possess these. As a result we experience many problems and miss many opportunities. Usually not because we lack good qualities but because we lack self-confidence.

On this day course we will learn how to develop true and deep self-confidence.

The teacher on this day course will be – Gen Kelsang Leksang

Gen Kelsang Leksang has been studying and teaching for over fifteen years and was appointed by Geshe Kelsang as Resident Teacher at KMC Birmingham in 2008. She is loved for her gentle and joyful approach and her sincere example.

All our day courses start at 10am and run until about 5pm.
They cost £20 per person which includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

BOOKINGS

You can reserve a place on this course by paying a £5 deposit. You can do this either by –

White Tara is a female enlightened being. Her function is to bestow long life, wisdom and good fortune. Through receiving the blessings of Venerable White Tara we will be free from untimely death, we will attain great good fortune and profound wisdom. Through this we will attain enlightenment quickly.

This empowerment is an opportunity to make a strong connection with White Tara and receive her powerful blessings.

The Empowerment starts at 10am and runs until about 5pm. The cost is £25 per person which includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

You can reserve a place on this course by paying a £5 deposit. You can do this either by –

Buddha said that the only thing we need to fear is an uncontrolled mind.

If a wild elephant was let loose in a populated area it would cause massive destruction but an uncontrolled mind can cause much more harm. The creator of all our sufferings is an uncontrolled mind.

On this course learn to bring this wild elephant of a mind under control

The teacher on this day course will be – John McBretney

Kadam John McBretney is the Resident Teacher of Heruka Kadampa Meditation Centre. He has studied and practised Kadampa Buddhism for many years under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Kadam John explains how to use Buddha’s teachings to solve our daily problems and find real happiness.

All our day courses start at 10am and run until about 5pm.
They cost £20 per person which includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

BOOKINGS

You can reserve a place on this course by paying a £5 deposit. You can do this either by –

In recent years our knowledge of modern technology has increased considerably & as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness. There is no less suffering in the world today & there are no fewer problems. Indeed it might be said that there are now more problems than ever before.

Superficially it looks like our world is improving. We know so many things we didn’t know before & can do things we never even dreamt of but if we look a bit more deeply we will see that there are many problems that never existed before. Terrifying weapons have been invented, our environment is being poisoned & new diseases are appearing. The result of an unbridled pursuit of happiness is that our planet is being destroyed & our lives are becoming more complicated & dissatisfying. People are suffering more from stress, anxiety & low self esteem. It is clear that something is deeply wrong & that manipulating external conditions will not help solve these modern problems.

The reason for this is the problems are internal problems & we can’t solve these with external solutions. Happiness is part of our mind, it is a feeling, so the real source of happiness must lie within our mind not in external conditions. If our mind is peaceful we will be happy all the time but if our mind is unpeaceful we will never be happy however much we try to change our external conditions.

Odiyana Centre is running a 4 week course entitled Meditations for Modern Problems. On this course we look at how we can address modern problems such as stress, anxiety & depression by learning to train our mind & develop deep inner peace.

We have classes all across Cheshire. For details of nights and venues please click on Meditation Classes, Evening Classes and then select the location you are interested in.

Atisha was an 11th century Buddhist master. He was renowned for his inspiring teachings helping people to solve their problems and find deep and lasting peace. Atisha gave a teaching that became known as Advice from Atisha’s Heart. This incredible text has been benefitting people for over a 1000 years. He realized that while people still have uncontrolled minds they will never find deep lasting happiness. Although Atisha lived and taught in the 10th century his teachings are timeless. It is one of the most profound teaching on training the mind ever given. It helped people to control their minds & find deep lasting happiness.

Although this teaching was given over 1000 years ago it is still as effective now as it was then because people’s real problems haven’t changed. The external environment is dramatically different but our minds are the same, we experience anger, fear, discontentment and unhappiness. The only way to solve these problems is by controlling our mind. We can change our home or partner countless times but until we change our restless discontented mind we will never find deep lasting happiness.

Odiyana Centre is running a 6 weeks course entitled Inspiring Solutions for Difficult Times . On this course based on Advice from Atisha’s Heart we revisit this ancient wisdom because it worked then & will work now if we apply it to our modern, busy lives.

We have classes all across Cheshire. For details of nights and venues please click on Meditation Classes, Evening Classes and then select the location you are interested in.

What exactly is it that we need to have a happy life? We need a happy mind. So many problems are created by our mind. We don’t realize the role our mind plays in projecting itself onto external situations. If our mind is negative or unhappy it will project an unpleasant world, if it is happy it will project a pleasant world.

Our desires are changing all the time and this adds to our unhappiness and discontentment. We may become unhappy because we are lonely so we surround ourselves with people resulting in us not being able to find the time to be alone, this then makes us stressed and unhappy. We may be unhappy because we can’t find work but once we get a job we feel stressed as we have too much work. We may feel depressed as our dreams aren’t fulfilled or once fulfilled they leave us feeling hollow & empty. We may lack success or become overwhelmed because when we have success it brings more stress than we can bear.

If we want to be happy in all these situations we need to learn to control our mind so it is happy & peaceful whether we are with people or alone, whether we are busy or sitting quietly. Through controlling our mind we can control what we project onto the world and we can start to create the sort of world we want live in.

Odiyana Centre is running a 7 week course entitled Meditations for a Happy Life. We have classes all across Cheshire. For details of nights and venues please click on Meditation Classes, Evening Classes and then select the location you are interested in.

In recent years our knowledge of modern technology has increased considerably and as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress, but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness. There is no less suffering in the world today and there are no fewer problems. This shows that the cause of happiness does not lie in external objects. Happiness and suffering are states of mind and their main causes cannot be found outside the mind.

When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations, we tend to regard the situation itself as our problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a peaceful and positive mind they would not be problems for us. We may even regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore if we want to be free from problems we must transform our mind.

We are like servants of our mind. Whenever it wants to do something we have to do it without choice. We are completely under the control of our mind. Anger is one of our most common and destructive states of mind. It afflicts our mind almost every day. To solve the problem of anger we first need to recognise the anger within our own mind, acknowledge how it harms both ourself and others, and appreciate the benefits of being patient in the face of difficulties. We then need to apply practical methods in our daily life to reduce our anger and finally to prevent it from arising at all.

Odiyana Buddhist Centre is running a seven-week course explaining how to recognise, reduce and finally eliminate anger from our mind and how to develop and maintain a patient and peaceful mind. Only then will we have real freedom.

When we think about happiness it seems quite a simple subject. It seems very attainable, yet very few people are truly happy. This isn’t through lack of trying, every day millions of people work very hard and spend large sums of money yet they don’t become any happier. Also it isn’t due to not wishing to be happy, we all want to be happy, we all want happiness more than anything. We find it hard to tolerate even the slightest discomfort.

WHY IS HAPPINESS SO ELUSIVE?

It is because we are looking for it in the wrong places. Happiness is a state of mind. We cannot make ourselves happy by accumulating possessions, watching TV or continuously making changes in our life. People have tried this approach year after year, generation after generation and it has never worked. There are more and more depressed people about than ever. Stress and anxiety are reaching epidemic proportions.

Buddha said that we should check whether our actions lead to the results we expect. If we did this we would be forced to conclude that they don’t. We engage in actions that we expect to lead to happiness and when they don’t we just do them again and again and again and are surprised when they don’t make us happy.

For example, we expect that buying a new car will make us happy. We buy one and feel excited for a few days then we are back in the same position as we were before – needy and discontented, so then we look for something else to buy and the cycle continues.

If we are logical we must realize that we need a different approach in our search for happiness. Pieces of plastic and metal cannot make us happiness. Our happiness needs to come from within our minds. We can’t rely on external objects for our happiness, we need to learn to cultivate happy states of mind for ourself.

Odiyana Buddhist Centre is running a 9 week course based on the widely renowned ‘8 Verses of Training the Mind’ which was composed in the 11th century. This book shows us where to find real happiness. If we apply these instructions diligently we will definitely become happier. These instructions worked in 11th century Tibet and are just as relevant to modern day England. Our external world may have changed a lot but our basic problems haven’t changed very much.

In recent years our knowledge of modern technology has increased considerably and as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress, but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness. There is no less suffering in the world today and there are no fewer problems. This shows that the cause of happiness does not lie in external objects. Happiness and suffering are states of mind and their main causes cannot be found outside the mind.

When things go wrong in our life and we encounter difficult situations, we tend to regard the situation itself as our problem, but in reality whatever problems we experience come from the side of the mind. If we were to respond to difficult situations with a peaceful and positive mind they would not be problems for us. We may even regard them as challenges or opportunities for growth. Problems arise only if we respond to difficulties with a negative state of mind. Therefore if we want to be free from problems we must transform our mind.

We are like servants of our mind. Whenever it wants to do something we have to do it without choice. We are completely under the control of our mind. Odiyana Kadampa Meditation Centre is running a seven-week course explaining how to reverse this situation and gain control over our mind. Only then will we have real freedom.

The course is on throughout Cheshire for details of evenings and venues please click on Meditation Classes, Evening Classes and then select the area you wish to attend.